The link says, "Sorry, the page...does not exist." Maybe that's the joke, but I didn't reply directly hoping for an edit. On another note, these 6 a.m. and 4 a.m. (McQuay) recruiting announcement threads are hilarious. Then again, I'm up early looking for info on the topic, too.

By the way, linebacker Mike Mitchell - whom we haven't offered - is also announcing at the game. He has been expected to pick OSU, but I'm not sure if last night's commitment from Trey Johnson will change that.

I think we as Michigan fans forget how good our recruiting has been over the past few seasons. We are so close to it that objectivity becomes hard. We have one of the 5 best classes in the country, hands down. Since many of our recruits commit so early, we adopt a "what have you done for me lately view." Ohio is going to recruit very well, and Notre Dame too. You know who else does? Michigan. All but maybe 3 or 4 schools would kill to have our recruiting class right now.

And those 3 or 4 other schools would still love to have several of our players (just as we would be happy to have theirs).

Hoke might not win some of the last minute recruiting battles, but he is a great recruiter so far. Plus, I would rather have most of our class locked in that wait for last minute recruiting battles on 10 to 20 kids. As long as Hoke does not have the attrition that plagued the Rich Rod and end of the Carr era, then Michigan football should continue to get better.

Plus, locking down the majority of 2013 so early gives Hoke a chance to look for 2013 under the radar kids and also get a head start on 2014. I expect this to be the strategy going forward. Look for Hoke to have a majority of 2014 filled by summer.

Was the video of the UA OL/DL drills in yesterday's thread UofM specific? In other words, was it put out by WolverineNation or TomVH? It didn't seem so, and if not, that's incredible.

Three of the primary OL "stars" of that video (in terms of screen time) are UofM commits, and a fourth (!) is considering us in Cameron Hunt. Plus Poggi. And of our other 2 OL commits, Fox is in the Army AA game and Bosch is is rated extremely highly.

Plus Morris and McCray. Plus Hurst (who played very well) and Douglas in the Semper Fi, and Thomas, Lewis, and Butt in the Army AA game. Just in terms of all-star game participation and omitting all of our other elite commits, it's such an outstanding class.

Hoke has been outstanding with line, TEs, LBs and even QB with Shane. He has added good depth at all positions. Excellent haul in MI and OH. We should field very solid teams over the next few years.

The 1 area for concern is athletes who play in space - WRs, CBs, FS, and RBs. We have repeatedly missed on core targets who would have given us a great class AND addressed critical weaknesses on the current roster.

Very good start by the staff, no doubt. A few kids away from a great start.

We have gotten some decent CB's and FS's (See Richardson, Wilson, and Thomas-although he might be more of SS). We have missed out on several elite WR's and RB's though. If we can lock in Green, we will have a great RB class just when we need it. Having Smith, Green, and Shallman will give us some good options for next season and the future. It isn't that Hoke isn't doing well there, but that he isn't do as well as compared to the OL or other positional groups.

Yeah, I'm not sure I agree with the FS/CB thing. We haven't landed a sure-fire lockdown guy like Dee Milliner or anything, but Jarrod Wilson, Terry Richardson, and Jourdan Lewis are all pretty highly rated recruits.

Magnus I have a question for you. Why do these games exist any more? They used to be played as a showcase for players that otherwise might not have been noticed but today, a kid playing for a division V school in western Montana gets offers if he's any good. NOBODY flys under the radar anymore so why play these? The potential for injury is certainly there (see Tory Hunter or Aledo Gray) and I'm sorta lost on what's gained.

If I was a coach i'd be scared to death to have any of my verbals there and would defintely "encourage them" to skip it.

Well, these nationally televised all-star games were never played for extra recognition. The interstate and intrastate all-star games used to be played for that reason (the MHSAA game, for example), and most Division I-bound kids would skip it. These games are the first opportunity for lots of these kids to be on a national stage, and I think that's how they look at it. They want to be recognized, and really, this is the best chance for some of them to be nationally known. Some of these kids will get injured, buried on depth charts, flunk out, etc.

The bottom line is that when you're 17 or 18 years old, playing football on national TV is a big deal. However, I would not be surprised if some of these kids stop playing in these games in the near future because of the risk of injury, coach pressure, new television deals, etc. Now that teams (Texas) and conferences (the Big Ten Network) are getting more and more air time, there's less and less incentive to play in these games. Pretty soon Fresno State will have its own television network, so Zach Greenlee won't have to play in the Under Armour game to earn recognition.

Thanks Magnus. I get why the sponsors want the games (money) and why the networks show them (content, money) and why the players want to participate (you summed that up well) but if I was a coach I'd do everything humanly possible to keep my commits OUT of the game itself.

My guess is that within a couple of years these games will go the way of the Chicago All Star Game (NFL Champion vs College All Star seniors) which used to kick off the season every year.

Those are two pretty strong reasons given for players and organizers to keep these games going. Risk of injury is the only downfall, and while significant, it's easy to talk oneself out of that risk. ESPN is televising these games now, and the online content build-up is almost as significant as the broadcast. That strengthens both reasons above. I think these games will become even more important and have higher profiles, but they'll be tiered almost like bowl games. UA will probably be the top, with Army second, with five/four star kids from AL/ND/UofM/Ohio/FLA/etc. participating in each. Semper Fi will be some of the lower rated recruits from those schools and the top recruits from high to mid-tier schools from each conference. And then the other games will exist so that one or two Sparties can play with their MAC brethren.

But one more valid reason for the games is more admirable than notoriety or cash money, and it's being overlooked: competition. You may not buy it, but I think there's a tremendous benefit for these kids to see, meet, interact, and compete against the best players in the country. There's pressure here, both in the practices and the games, and that puts these kids in the crucible a little earlier than Fall of their freshman years. It continues to push their development.